Species · genus Kleinia · Asteraceae
Barberton Senecio
Senecio barbertonicus Klatt
Also known as: Succulent Bush Senecio · Lemon Bean Bush · Finger-leaved Senecio
Cultivars of S. barbertonicus
The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.
No named cultivars catalogued under S. barbertonicus yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.
Guide
The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.
A shrubby succulent senecio
Senecio barbertonicus is a succulent shrub in the daisy family, Asteraceae, grown as much for its narrow blue-green fingers of foliage as for its yellow flowers. It sits within the sprawling genus Senecio, a group that ranges from annuals to climbers to succulent shrubs like this one.
Source: RHS
A Klatt-named species
The species was first described by the botanist Klatt in 1896, published in the Bulletin de l'Herbier Boissier. It has travelled under several names in cultivation, including Senecio 'Himalaya' and Senecio 'Himalaya Blue', and has at times been misidentified as Senecio talinoides.
Source: Kew
Daisy-like flowers, divided leaves
As a member of Senecio, this plant carries the genus's hallmark daisy-like flowerheads, sometimes lacking ray florets, held above foliage that can be simple or pinnately divided. Some Senecio species are succulent, and this one belongs to that succulent-leaved side of the family.
Source: RHS
A word of caution
This plant belongs to the group commonly called groundsel or ragwort, and it carries pyrrolizidine alkaloids that are toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. Ingestion of green material is the usual route of poisoning, and it can bring on liver damage recognised by weight loss, weakness, yellowish mucous membranes, and disorientation. Animals often seem fine at first before the condition turns rapidly worse over days.
Source: ASPCA
Care recipe
The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.
Care notes are early — not yet verified
- Light
- ai:claude-opus-4-8
- Water
- ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d)
- Humidity
- ai:claude-opus-4-8
- Soil
- ai:claude-fable-5
- Care
- ai:claude-fable-5
Direct sun
≈ every 28 days
Low — average room
7–27 °C
Free-draining succulent mix with added grit
Stem cuttings root readily once callused
Light feed once or twice in the growing season
Moderate
Sweetly scented golden-yellow flower clusters in winter
Toxic to cats & dogs
Senecio (ragwort / groundsel) — pyrrolizidine alkaloids; vomiting, lethargy. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.
Reference images
Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.
PrimarySources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ASPCA
Kept true by its growers
Every fact here carries its source. Grow Barberton Senecio yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.
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